New Beginning
by FaLyn9
Summary: It's been 10 months since Clementine joined Robin to find safety in the zombie apocalypse. Rick's group found them and views them as a threat, Lori thinks they should stay and gives them a chance, Daryl suggests to kill them. Can Robin and Clementine show them they are friendly in time before their execution? (Later CarlXClementine, DarylXOC, maybe RickXMichonne)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! Just to let you know, I will be mixing the TellTale Video game of the walking dead and the TV series with my OC. This takes place after Season 1 of the TellTale video game and somewhere in the middle of season 2 of the Walking dead TV series just incase anyone is confused.**

**Enjoy!**

Clementine walked out into the field, refusing to look back at Savannah. She told Lee she knew her way back to the train…but she didn't. She forgot. The thought of shooting Lee…her mind went blank. She felt the pain was about to explode from her chest. Her heart was broken. What was she going to do now? She was lost…she was tired.

She saw an abandoned old car next to a tree with a trunk underneath the shade. She sat on the tree trunk to rest. In front of her was a dirt road, one end was facing north and one end was facing south. She didn't know what to do. She sighed and looked at the silver handgun in her hand.

"Lee…" She said tearfully.

Snap!

A branch broke behind her.

Quickly she got up and turned around, pointing the gun infront of her. But before she could shoot, a woman was standing before her. The woman was in her 20's, she had short hair with small braids on the sides. She wore green shorts with a grey tube top with a black jacket along with a leather quiver that carried a whole bunch of arrows tied around her hips above a green backpack that was strapped around her waist. , she wore slippers with bandages wrapped around them so they wouldn't slip off. She held a wooden bow and had an arrow pulled back on the string, ready to be set free on Clementine. Suddenly the woman saw it was just a little girl, and alive at that, she relaxed her arm and pointed the arrow down.

"He-Hey. I-It's ok. I'm sorry I scared you." She put down her bow and arrow and took off her backpack then raised her hands to show she was a friendly.

Clementine didn't put down her gun for a second but then gained enough courage to trust her and put down the gun.

"Little girl, what are you doing by yourself? It's too dangerous." The stranger asked.

Clementine looked away from her, trying to fight back the tears.

"Don't you have your parents? O-Or a group?" The stranger continued to ask.

Clementine was trying her best; she quickly wiped a tear from her eye and didn't look back at the stranger. The stranger noticed this and regretted it.

"I got lost too. Maybe…we can stick together. Better than being alone, right sweetie?" The stranger tried to lighten the mood but it didn't help. Clementine sat back down, she placed the gun on her lap and rubbed her arms, her back faced the stranger. She wanted to die, she wanted it all to end and she wished the stranger killed her.

But she didn't.

Instead the stranger sat next to Clementine, bringing her back to lean it against the trunk. The stranger opened her bag, dug her hand in and pulled out a cereal bar. She handed it to Clementine. "Here, it might be a little stale but it's better than nothing right?"

Clementine looked at the cereal bar, back at the stranger, and took the cereal bar but didn't open it.

"My name is Robin by the way. What's your name sweetie?"

"Cle-Cle-Clemen..Clementine." She sniffed.

"Clementine? That's a beautiful name. Do you mind if I call you Clem?"

Clementine twitched when she called her that, she remembered everyone who called her that. Everyone who died, the pain surfaced inside her as tears fell from her eyes. She tried to wipe them away but she couldn't, she broke down. She buried her face in her hands, the bar and the gun dropped to the ground. Immediately the older woman wrapped her arms around the frightened child, trying to show her some comfort.

* * *

"Clem?"

The young girl woke up quickly from the sound of Robin's voice, she opened her eyes and remembered where she was. She sat up from the rough ground and smelled the burning fish on top of the fire. Robin and her set up camp in the middle of the woods near a lake, she remembered they were walking for hours until their legs finally gave up. Around them were strings with cans attached to them, in case a walker came too close to them they would be alerted by the rattling cans. Robin was sitting next to the fire, turning the skewered fish to try and cook it evenly. Robin was looking at Clementine with a worried look.

She wore a dirty red jacket with an orange tank top and torn bloody jeans, she wore black cowboy boots that looked almost worn out. Clementine saw the same backpack, quiver and an hunting bow resting on a tree. Clementine stretched her arms up, she was wearing a pink worn out t-shirt with dots of blood on her chest and recently found loose jeans being tied tightly on her hips and dirty brown sneakers.

It's been 10 months since that day, since Robin found Clementine and she choose to join her. Over the time, Clementine built a strong relationship with Robin. It kinda reminded her when she was with Lee except with a mother nature. Clementine felt happy, even though they were in an apocalypse, she wanted to feel safe.

Quickly Clementine wiped her eyes and faked a yawn, hoping Robin wouldn't worry as much.

"Good morning."

"Good morning Clem. Were you having a nightmare?"

"N-Not really. Just..a dream." Clementine reassured her.

Robin nodded and pulled the fish from the fire and pressed her fingers against it to see how hard it is. IT smelled horrible but it's better than nothing, she wished they didn't eat the last can of beans two days ago. While Clementine was sleeping, she went to a lake not to far and used her arrows to catch their breakfast, she lost two arrows in the process so let's hope it was worth it.

Robin took the first bite and made a crunch sound…not that bad. She nodded her head of approval and took another bite, Clementine stick out her tongue in disgust.

"You never know until you try it. Come on, eat up. We have a long day ahead of us." Robin passed the stick to Clementine so she can eat. She got up and started to prepare their things so they can move. Clementine looked at the brunt fish, she seriously didn't want to eat it..but her stomach said otherwise. Slowly she took a bite…eww! Robin was crazy! This was disgusting! Her stomach growled more loudly and Clementine continued to bite the brunt fish. She grabbed her backpack and gladly gave the uneaten half of the fish to Robin who gladly finished it for her.

They continued their journey going west, they headed to Florida before. They heard there was a safe point there when this whole outbreak started. But as soon as they got there, it was over run like termites on wood and barely escaped with their lives. They moved north again near Savannah and heard about Atlanta on another male survivor, how there might be another safe point in the city. The male survivor died trying to save them from walkers and they continued on their own. Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, it seems Atlanta would just be on the other side of the world.

Still, they found ways to keep them entertained. They'd find books in shacks and they'd read out loud while walking on the road or play I-Spy or talk about their lives before the outbreak. They were on the road until walkers chased after them and they ended up in the forest, they followed the river hoping it would lead them to a road again or atleast near a town.

"Sophia!"

They heard a male yelling near-by, Robin removed her bow and drew her arrow. Clementine took out her gun and pointed forward like how Robin taught her. They listened to any noise that might be near them. It drew quiet again. Robin slowly moved forward with her arrow pulled back on the bow's string and ready to fire. Clementine was the same.

"Sophia!"

They heard the voice again closer. Robin relaxed her arm to remove her arrow and pushed Clementine against a thick tree. At first Clementine was confused. Robin pointed at her eyes, and then pointed behind and in front of her, stating that to keep an eye out in front of you and behind you. Clementine nodded. Robin pulled the arrow back again and walked forward to follow the screaming voice. Clementine waited a few minutes until she didn't hear anymore crunching leaves and made sure she was completely alone before following after Robin.

Robin carefully stepped around to avoid making noise or having the leaves blowing her cover. The yelling voice was muted for a while now, has the man disappeared? Has he found what he was looking for? Robin still kept her guard up, looking all around her for the male. Suddenly she felt someone was behind her. She turned around and saw a dirty white man with shaggy brown hair pointing a crossbow at her.

"I dare you." He said in a scruffy voice.

"You first." She stated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Things just got interesting. Arrows at the ready, someone is going to die, who will it be?**

Robin faced the man in front of her, neither put their weapon down. Robin looked at the man, he looked like in his 30's, he was white, had messy hair wore a grey vest shirt and dirty jeans. Neither of them broke their gaze, both of them were just aching to shoot the other.

"Were you the one yelling?" Robin asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Well if it's going attract every single walker in this god forsake forest, I rather shut it up."

"I'm looking for a little girl, you've seen her?" He asked.

"Dead or alive?" She asked in return.

"That's not funny."

"Well I haven't seen a little girl, so get going and stop yelling." Robin glared at him, the older man didn't drop his weapon. Clementine hid behind a nearby tree and saw them having a drawn down, she saw neither of them moved. Their lips were talking but she couldn't hear their conversation, if she came closer she would give away her position. She pointed her gun at the white male, she had a clear shot. If he did anything to Robin, Clementine knew what to do. The conversation lasted a few minutes and Clementine's arm was getting tired. Just what were they talking about?!

She tried to get a little closer since curiosity got the better of her, but her foot slipped and she fell to the ground. Her finger pulled the trigger and shot in the air. This started Robin and the white male, Robin let go of the arrow which the male dodged completely. She tried to make a run for it but the white male tackled her to the ground and they both fought for control.

Clementine saw Robin on the ground with the man on top of her, she aimed the gun at the man on top but when Clementine saw the older male winning, she got a clear shot of him and pulled the trigger again. This time the bullet scraped off his shoulder and drew blood, he hissed with pain and anger. Robin gained the upper hand and got on top of him and gave her hardest punch she could give him.

"Clementine!" Robin yelled when she gave the white male a hard punch. "Clementine run! Don't look back, just run!"

Clementine didn't, she saw Robin gotten kicked off and was knocked out by the white male. She gasped and covered her mouth, she hid behind the tree. The white male collected his crossbow and looked up on the hill, trying to find his target but couldn't see Clementine.

"Fucking bitch." He cursed under his breath. The white male was deciding in his mind what he should do with Robin. Surely he couldn't leave her there, it wasn't right. She did try to kill him though, and who was this Clementine? "Fuck this."

* * *

"Where did you find her, Daryl?"

"In the northern side, someone else was with her though. Almost shot off my shoulder."

"Do you think it was Sophia?"

"No, she yelled out Clementine."

Robin recognized the white males voice, but she didn't recognized the other one. She opened her eyes but was very drowsy. Her head was pounding with pain, how hard did that son of a bitch hit her? She softly groaned and slowly got up.

"Hey, she's getting up."

Robin tried to grab her head to try and stop it from spinning. But her hands were restricted behind her with handcuffs, she brought it to her full attention and tugged her arms apart, the sound of chains was rattling with it. She sat up but was brought back down with a foot slammed against her chest. Her back hit the ground and looked up at her captor. It was the same white male that she faced before. They gaze met but he didn't say anything.

It looked like she was in a shack but another man came into Robin's vision, he had short brown hair and saw facial hair around his lower face, he was starting to grow a beard. He was wearing a long sleeved buttoned up dark golden shirt with dark brown jeans. He looked down on her next to the white male that she faced before. She couldn't get up, and god knows what these two men were going to do to her.

But the other man looked familiar to Robin, once her vision cleared up, she tried to imagine him without his growing beard and an image came to mind.

"Ri"-

Robin gasped for air when the foot was removed from her chest and was kicked into her stomach. She got onto her side to hack up the stomach she believed would come out.

"What's your name, Robin Hood?"

After coughing and gasping for air, she looked up at the two strangers and gave them a smile. "That was my nickname in high school, you know, it followed me through co-Kya!" Another kick was thrown at her stomach, she curled up into a ball to defend herself from any more attacks.

"Give me your name bitch!"

"Go to fucking hell." Robin commented.

The white male grabbed her pony tail, she groaned but yelled with pain when the white male drowned her with punch after punch. Blood split from her nose and her mouth, she couldn't breathe at all. He didn't allow her to.

"Daryl! Daryl enough!" The other man stopped him.

He threw one final punch before letting Robin go. Robin coughed her blood on the ground as she brushed her tongue around her teeth to make sure her teeth were still there. At least she still had her teeth. She couldn't get up though, those punches really kicked the strength out of her.

"We've done what we can, we'll investigate her more tomorrow."

The white male who Robin thought was Daryl backed off from her and spat near her face, she flinched.

"Where..where is Clementine? Where…is my little girl?"

"That little bitch is lunch. If I ever see her, I'm going to"-

Robin forced her body on her knees so she can face her captor, the chains forbid her to go any further but she glared at him.

"If you dare hurt her!" She received another punch in the face, bringing her again to the ground and Daryl smirking over her.

"What'cha gonna do about it sunshine?"

"Daryl!"

The male grumbled and left the place they held her in, the other man left behind looked at Robin who was bleeding on the ground. He muttered something under his breath and left the shack. Robin turned her head to the closed door; she heard them locking it from the outside. Even if she did find her way out of the cuffs, she was trapped inside.

She began to whisper; "Rick…please let that be you. Please…help me."

**How the hell does Robin know Rick? o.o...DUHN DUHN DUHN!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This was the longest chapter I ever wrote! I'm so proud of myself! I am so happy that I got 6 followers, all from yesterday. I'm so happy you like my story and want to read more! I will not let you down!Enjoy and Review please! **

Robin laid on the ground, staring at the wooden ceiling…too bad she couldn't. A while ago they blindfolded her so she wouldn't go snooping around. She doesn't remember how long she was in there. The pain lingered on her face; she didn't even want to look in the mirror right now. Right now, she's worried about Clementine. She prayed that she was alright, that's all she could do.

She was an idiot.

She and Clementine should've went the other way. They should've walked away and avoided the yelling voice. No…Robin was stupid and because of her, Clementine was out there alone to fend for herself. She hoped she taught her enough to survive on her own, just until she could get out of here.

Robin was hungry…thirsty…in pain…

That man…she knew him...

His name was Rick! She knows it in her gut!

She remembers him from her past but would he believe her and not kill her.

The door suddenly jingled on the opposite side as if someone was taking off the lock. Robin turned her head as the door opened. The sound of shoes hit the wooden floor, Robin stayed still. She tried to listen for their voices but they didn't speak. A familiar set of hands grabbed her by her arms and forced her to sit her up. Even though she rested, she still felt incredibly weak. She knew the two men from before were with her. Her lips trembled a little, she was a little nervous. She didn't know if they were going to beat her more or rape her or kill her.

One of the males spoke, she knew it wasn't Daryl. It was the other man, the one she believed was Rick. "I'm going to ask you a few questions, understand?" She heard a gun clicking which made her flinch with fear, thinking they were going to shoot her. "Don't try anything stupid, if you do, I will not hesitate to shoot."

Robin nodded in agreement.

"What is your name?"

Robin stayed quiet for a minute, she slowly turned her head to the side, she heard Daryl's rough breathing near her. "Ro…Robin."

There was a moment of silence, Robin was hoping he would know her name but he didn't.

"Are you with a group?"

"No…I have a little girl with me."

"A little girl?" He asked quickly. "What is her name?"

"Clementine..." The man grabbed her shirt and brought her closer, she felt the gun pressed against her head.

"Do not lie to me! What is her name?!" He spoke with anger in her voice.

"Clementine!" Robin yelled at him. "She's a 9 year old girl with short black hair with a fucking baseball cap. If you're talking about a girl named Sophia, I don't know her! I never saw another child!"

Her shirt was let go and the gun was taken away, she almost fell forward but she caught herself in time. She heard the man pace near her, sensing the anger in his steps. She didn't know what he was thinking.

"Now I have a question for you." Robin asked, the pacing stopped and she felt their eyes on her. "Is your name Rick Grimes?"

Silence…Silence was the answer that was giving at the moment.

"How do you know that name?" Daryl asked her. Robin was quiet, was she right? Is this man really Rick Grimes? He grabbed her by her hair, yanking up as Robin groaned with pain. "Answer me!"

"Daryl, let her go!" Rick demanded. Daryl silently obeyed but Robin finally fell to the ground, her head was throbbing. She couldn't think any more.

She heard one of the footsteps leaving, the steps against the wood disappeared. She heard grass crunching for a moment but then the door closed. Robin was alone again, she breathed deeply until the real darkness collapsed over her and she pasted out.

"And how exactly does this girl know you?" Daryl asked Rick as they walked back to the house.

"I-I don't know." Rick was confused, how did she know him?

"She might be dangerous; we can't keep her in the shed for long." Daryl suggested. "That Clementine girl, if she hasn't gotten lost or a walker hasn't eaten her, will come looking for her. She's quite a good aimer too." Daryl touched his bandaged shoulder where the bullet scraped him.

Rick sighed, trying to make a decision in his head. "Get the group together. We'll need an answer tonight before that girl comes looking for her."

* * *

It only took a matter of minutes to get everyone settled in the house, including Hershel and his family. Rick was the last one to come in, everyone looked at him they could tell he was confused on what to do on a choice.

"So what's this big meeting for?" A large black man known as T-Dog asked him.

"Just two days, Daryl found a woman in the forest looking for Sophia."

"And we're just finding out about this now?" Andrea asked, she was a tall slender woman with wavy blonde hair and dirty clothes, she was leaning against the wall next to an Asian man in his early 20's with his arms crossed, his name was Glenn and he was wearing a baseball cap with a jersey t-shirt and baggy jeans.

"I didn't know if she was dangerous or not." Rick stated. "While Daryl and I were questioning her, she recognized me. She knows my name."

"H-How does she know your name?" Rick's wife, Lori, stood up from the couch; she was a few years younger than Rick. She had long wavy brown hair with a worn out pink tank top, a long sleeve plaid shirt tied around her hips and skinny jeans with brown boots. "What does that mean? Is she dangerous?"

"Lori sweetie calm down." Rick grabbed her shoulders. "She doesn't seem dangerous but we can't be so sure."

"Would anyone be looking for her?" Shane asked, Shane was Rick's best friend and right handed man. He was a well shave man wearing clothes that were too big for him, he seemed dirty since he just came from helping looking for Sophia.

"This girl named Clementine." Daryl added. "She might be her kid or something."

"A mother and daughter?" An elderly man stepped up; he had a light white beard with a fisherman hat on his head. His Hawaiian shirt was unbuttoned to reveal his white tank top with beige slacks and flip flops. "There should be no argument about this. We have to help them."

"Dale, we don't know them. Her girl almost killed Daryl." Said Rick.

"But she knows you!" Dale raised his voice at him. "I have no idea what she was to you back then but it could probably mean an ally than a threat. Daryl probably attacked her and her daughter saw it as a threat. If you and Carl were in her position, the same thing would happen." Rick stayed silent, listening to Dale's words.

"It doesn't matter." Andrea spoke up. "Our group comes first and they shot at Daryl, they are a threat."

"Andrea, you can't be serious." Dale pleaded.

"I say give her a chance." Glenn voted.

"No we shouldn't." Andrea spat.

Rick listened to their arguments, he still wasn't so sure on what to do. Was she really a threat? "Lori can I talk to you for a second?"

Lori nodded and Rick took her to the dining room; they were still in clear view of the group but they lowered their voices so they could talk a little privately.

"Does the name Robin come to mind?" Rick muttered to her.

"Robin? Is that her name?" Rick nodded, Lori begun the thinking process. She searched her mind for that name but nothing was coming to mind. "Robin…Robin…not..really. Except…"

"Except?"

"Do you remember when Carl was three? And we wanted to try having date nights."

"Yes?"

"One of the deputies…Bobby, Bobby Brown. He had a daughter named Robin, I think. She babysat for us so we can go out. Because of her, we went out every Monday and Thursday."

"What happened to her?" Rick got more curious, trying to regain the memory.

"Um…last I remember, she was talking about going to some college in New York."

Rick sighed. It wasn't enough. He couldn't remember and he didn't come up with a choice yet.

"Rick?" Lori begun to worry for her husband.

"Nothing…um…I'm"-

"Rick, Lori." They were interrupted by Hershel, an elderly doctor man who was helping their son Carl got shot. Hershel owned the farm they were standing on with his family. He took off a black stethoscope from his ears and wrapped it around his neck.

"Hershel, how is he?" Rick asked, worried about his son.

"He's fine, he's responding well. He'll be bedridden for at least two weeks but I don't foresee any more problems." Both parents sighed with relief and hugged each other, their son was safe, thank god.

"Now…tell me about this new guest you brought into my shack." Hershel told them. Rick rubbed the back of his neck, now he had to explain the story to him. Hershel wasn't going to be happy.

* * *

Night fell upon them quickly, Rick still hasn't come up with a decision on what to do. Dale couldn't believe this was up for discussion. He knew their humanity was withering and dying, what could he do? He was just one person. He tried to gather everyone's opinion and change their mind; half wanted her gone and the other half wanted to give her a chance.

Damn it.

He took matters in his own hand and grabbed a cup of water and stashed an apple in his pocket, while everyone was having dinner he traveled to the shack with a flashlight shining the way. Next to the door, he saw a hunters bow next to a quiver and a patched up back pack. He expected it to be the prisoner's things; the only one who uses arrows is Daryl. She must be skilled then. Dale took off the lock and gently opened the door and stepped into the shack.

Robin was leaning against the wall, she seemed lifeless but Dale saw her chest move up and down. She was still breathing. He kneeled in front of her and carefully removed the blindfold. Robin flinched when she woke up, she looked at Dale who stepped back a little but didn't spill the water.

"Easy there. I'm not going to hurt you, I just wanted to know if you're hungry that's all."

Robin didn't respond, instead she looked at Dale and tried to back away but knew she couldn't. Slowly he kneeled in front of her, placing the flashlight next to them but he faced it towards the ceiling so the light can dim around them, and leaned the cup of water towards her. "Do you want some water?" Robin didn't respond, she thought the cup was poisonous. They might be trying to kill her off early. He saw the look on her face and got the hint. He took a sip of the water to prove it was ok. Robin oddly believed him and leaned forward, Dale leaned the cup on her lips to let her drink. Robin gulped down the water furiously, she was thirsty! Water tasted so good, she felt it running down her throat and the coldness spread on her warm chest. She swore this was better than sex. Dale removed the cup from her lips and placed the cup down to remove the apple from his pocket. He took out a knife from his other pocket to cut the apple to feed her pieces of it but the door opened again.

Shane stood at the door, he was surprised to see Dale in the shack but his face turned to anger. "What the fuck are you doing here, Dale?!"

"I'm just giving her some water and something to eat Shane. She was dying."

"That is none of your concern!" Shane stepped into the shack and tossed the apple from his hand, forcing Dale to get up.

"Shane!"

"You should not be in here! Rick has already decided to kill her off." Shane stated, making Robin gasp and stand up to defend herself incase he was getting ready to grab her.

"Shane, you know this isn't right!" Dale argued. "She"-

"Get back!"

Shane turned around and they all turned their attention on the little girl pointing a handgun at them with a bloody arm, it was Clementine.

**Duhn! Duhn! Duhn! Clementine is here to save the day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am in a bit in a walking dead mood right now! Since I keep rewatching seasons 1 through 3 and waiting for season 4 to be available. I'm just reading season 4 so does that count?...XD I might write daily because of it, thank god no school at the moment!**

**YAY! Remember to enjoy and review the love!**

Clementine pointed the gun at them, her finger on the trigger but her breath was raspy. Her arm was bleeding badly; it looked like the shape of a bite mark. Everyone's attention was on the bite mark at the moment. She gathered her strength to do this mission. She was a little nervous but she lost one dear friend…she wasn't going to lose another one.

"She's bitten." Said Shane. "She's fucking bitten!"

Robin looked at her, she couldn't believe this happened. Clementine was bit?

Dale and Shane looked from the wound to the little girl in front of them, Shane cursed at the time they had to give up their weapons. Now they might get killed by an 80 lb. girl with a gun.

"I said get back!" Clementine yelled at them, threatening them with the gun. They rose up their hands to surrender. Clementine neared them and they backed off, she circled around them until she stood in front of Robin. "Robin? A-Are you ok?"

"Clementine, don't shoot do you understand me?!" Robin yelled at her.

Clementine didn't listen; she focused her attention on the men in front of her and glared at them.

"Little girl, you put that gun down right now!" Shane warned her but she didn't listen.

"You really should be nicer to people holding guns at you." Clementine said coldly, she was mad. She wanted to kill them for hurting Robin. In fact, Robin was proud of Clem. She never thought Clem had it in her to say something along those lines, but for now, Robin wanted Clem safe and she knew the men would harm her if she slipped up.

"Clementine, put down the gun! It's ok!" Robin tried to talk to her, Clementine didn't want to but she heard Robin's plead and slowly lowered the gun. The men lowered their arms as well, Clementine's eyes still didn't leave theirs. "Clementine, listen to me. I want you to put the gun on the floor, nice and slowly. It's going to be ok."

Clementine carefully placed her left knee on the ground but just as soon as she was about to drop the ground, the door burst wide open along with the sound of growling. A walker barged his way through and was about to attack Clementine until she turned her body and shot at the walker, the bullet went right through the shoulder of the walker but it still kept going towards her. She shrieked with fear as Shane tackled it to the ground. Dale grabbed Clementine to help her up, trying to avoid her wounded arm. Shane made the walker lean on his stomach to make sure he had enough time to get up and slam his foot against the walkers head. Once! Twice! Three times! Four times! Shane smashed the walkers head over and over until there was no more head left. Only a pile of blood, brains and a crushed skull.

"What the fuck!" He yelled. What was a walker doing on the farm? They were supposed to be safe!

Dale looked at Clementine, she dropped the gun in order to hold on to her arm when she hit the ground, it stung badly with pain.

BANG! BANG!

Gunshots were heard near-by, they heard Rick yelling for Lori's name and soft growling sounds nearby. Walkers were on the farm! Shane abandoned the shack to investigate and to aid Rick. Dale went to Robin's side and tried to unchain the cuffs that binded Robin, but it wouldn't budge. Clementine grabbed the gun she dropped on the ground and went behind Robin, she neared the gun towards the chain, aimed it away from her feet and pulled the trigger. The bullet broke the chain but the cuffs remained on her wrists like bracelets. She immediately got up and they all left the shack, from what they can see, Dale's group was running towards the house where there was safety for now. They could see Rick from afar shooting his pistol at the nearest walker that threatened him.

"Rick where are the guns!" Shane yelled nearby with a shovel that he found to hit a walker in the head before aiding Rick's side.

"In the RV!" He yelled back, shooting another walker in the head before reloading his revolver quickly.

"Fuck!" Shane cursed.

"Shane! Get back!"

Robin quickly eyed the field, ten walkers near the house two walkers on the left and four walkers on right. Eventually she saw Daryl coming up to the house with his crossbow and shooting walkers that came near him…make that seven walkers on the right. Or six with the one he just shot down and went to retrieve the arrow.

Robin spotted her bow and arrow next to the shack along with her backpack, she grinned. Thank you god! She grabbed her bow and packed the quiver on her back. She commanded Clementine to stay in the shack and ran off, knowing from the bottom of her heart, Clementine would translate it to 'help me'.

Robin drew her first arrow and pulled it against the string of the bow. She saw Rick reloading his gun, taking steps back to avoid the two walkers trying to get him. She got her target and took a deep breath, her lips brushed against the arrow. It was her lucky signature and she released the arrow.

Rick looked down to make sure his bullets were in before lifting it up and saw the walker no less than a foot in front of him. Instead there was an arrow on his forehead, the walker froze for a second but then fell on the ground at Rick's feet. Rick hesitated but shot the nearby walker before it bit him.

He saw Robin from afar, she drew arrow after arrow, releasing them and she always hit her target right away. The arrows breached the walker's skull and they fell down one by one. She raced quickly to retrieve her arrows before heading on to her next targets. She saw Clementine shooting down two walkers that were near the shack, she counted five bullets to bring both of them down. Clementine had three rounds left if she remembered correctly. Robin past her, jumping over the dead bodies and went to the left side of the house.

Daryl stopped to reload his crossbow on the arrow he recently retrieved and pointed at the walker coming towards him; suddenly an arrow pierced through the stomach, the chest, then the eye. The walker fell at Daryl's feet and he saw Robin a couple feet away, with her bow steady but with an arrow already drawn back on the string. Daryl didn't put the crossbow down, he didn't let his guard down. A gunshot was fired right behind Daryl, sounding loudly in his ears. He turned around as another walker fell behind him but Clementine was near to shoot the walker that was about to bite him from behind.

Clementine saved his life.

He was surprised she would do that. He heard Robin muttered; "That's my girl." He put down the crossbow and smirked at Clementine.

Robin put her arrow back in her quiver and past Daryl to kneel in front Clementine to hug her. Rick, Shane, Dale and Glenn came to aid them, but they saw that the job was done. Robin kissed Clementine's head and whispered good job in Clementine's ears. But Clementine closed her eyes, her vision was spinning. She felt weak and hot. The stinging in her arm wouldn't go away, it was taking away her strength. Her knees gave out but Robin was quick enough to catch her and laid her on her lap.

"Clem? Sweetie?" Robin looked at her, trying to see what was wrong with her. Then she remembered the bite on her arm, Robin pulled back the bloody sleeve and revealed the bite. She was trying to think of a way to prove it wasn't a walker bite. It couldn't be a walker!

"I told you she's bit!" Shane yelled. "Get away from her!"

"Not…walker…" Clementine said weakly. "D…Dog…Dog….bit…Dog…" Her head leaned against Robin's shoulder, she could barely talk let alone keep awake.

Robin looked at Clementine and back at the arm, a dog bit her. It was a dog! Robin was glad but she needed to dress the wound.

"We need to get her away…Robin!" Rick tried to get her attention but Robin looked up at him. Just before Rick could take her away, Robin grabbed the fallen gun and pointed it at Rick, who stepped away to avoid being shot.

"Don't even think about it!" She yelled.

"Robin, she is going to turn!" He tried to reason with her. This was the same way with Andrea when they were in Atlanta. Amy was bitten by a walker and died, Andrew sat by her side until Amy was reanimated and was shot by Andrea herself. Rick didn't want her to go through the same thing Andrea did.

"She said it was a dog bite! A walker didn't bite her!"

"It was a walker!" Shane yelled, Robin pointed the gun at him as a response.

"It was a dog!"

"We don't know that." Said Rick.

"She just said it you heard her!" Robin tried to reason with him, begging him to help her. "If it's a walker bite…and she comes back, I will kill her. After that and ONLY until then, you can do what you want with me. But please…I'm begging you."


	5. Chapter 5

Robin was back in the shack, holding Clementine in her arms. Rick agreed that Hershel would dress the wound and stitch it up, despite the argument of the group, but they had to stay locked in the shack incase Clementine did turn.

Robin leaned against the wall; she tried to make Clementine comfortable by removing her hat and resting her head on her lap and covered her with her dirty jacket. Clementine was passed out ever since she was trying to explain that a dog bit her. She prayed, she was praying and hoping that Clementine would wake up and everything would be back to normal.

She turned her head when the door rattled as the lock as taken off. The door opened and Daryl came in; his crossbow was still strapped behind him and was still wearing the bloody clothes from yesterday. He was holding a white plate with utensils, for not eating for days she could smell the freshly made food. He crotched down in front of her, she saw on the plate a biscuit and some scrambled eggs. It…looked…delicious…

"Eat." He told her, gesturing the plate towards her.

She took the plate and looked at him; he sat on top of a crate and removed his crossbow to lean it against the wall. Robin ate half of the biscuit and used a fork to split the scramble egg apart to eat the other half. She then put the plate down in front of her and turned her attention back at Clementine, Daryl was confused onto why she didn't eat the rest of the food; they were practically starving her out.

"I want Clementine to eat when she wakes up, she likes eating eggs for breakfast…of course when we can find eggs and a pan to cook them with." Robin chuckled.

Daryl was quiet for a second. "You don't know what happens…when someone is bitten by a walker"-

"I know exactly what happens." Robin looked up at him. "I know what happens when one gets bitten…they turn into one of them, a mindless ravenous freak. I killed all of my friends with blood dripping from their mouths, my boyfriend committed suicide when he saw what a bite mark can do to you, my best friend was bit on her shoulder and she begged me to kill her."

He looked at her when she explained her story then looked away, knowing how she felt; he saw his father, after being half devoured, being shot by his own uncle, and he had to kill his own uncle that was bit and turned into a walker. He sighed; "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Robin pulled back some of Clementine's hair from her face.

"How do you know Rick?" He asked her.

"I use to babysit his son, Carl…or Carlos I think? No it was Carl. He was like…four years old I think and damn he was a fucking handful. Also my father worked for Rick and everyday when I'm walking home from school, I would stop by the sheriff office to see my dad working at the desk. I saw Rick there and we would go out to lunch sometimes. He was a really good man."

"He is I guess." Daryl rubbed his neck, so Robin really did know Rick. He doubts Carl would remember her, who would remember their first four years of life. "Thanks…for shooting that walker."

Robin smirked at him; "Oh so you're being nice now?"

"I'm just showing my gratitude but I'll go back to being a dick."

"Well aren't you being prince charming." She teased with a smile.

Clementine stirred in her sleep, their attention turned on her. Daryl grabbed his crossbow but didn't point at Clementine yet. Clementine opened her eyes and looked up at Robin, she swore her heart stopped for a minute until Clementine spoke; "I smell…eggs."

Robin grinned and chuckled. "Yes, yes, we have scrambled eggs for breakfast."

"Really? Can I…have some?" She muttered.

"Ye-Yes! Yes!" Robin carefully sat her up and brought the plate to Clementine, Clementine ate the scrambled eggs weakly but it was still good. Robin couldn't stop grinning, Clementine was alive! When Clementine ate the last of the eggs and the other half of the biscuit, Robin smothered her face with kisses and hugged her to death.

Daryl smiled at the scene, for some reason he imagined them as his friend Carol and her daughter Sophia. Carol would gather Sophia in her arms, crying like crazy and kissing her daughter. He hoped to see that scene soon, Carol deserves her daughter back.

"Robin…I can't…breath." Clementine choked.

"I'm sorry!" Robin let go of Clementine and cupped her face. "I just thought I lost you for a second there."

Clementine smiled at Robin and hugged her in return, embracing her love. "Are the walkers gone?"

"Yeah, they're gone. We got them all." Robin placed Clementine's hat back on her head and kissed her forehead one more time.

"Now…what are they going to do to us?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know sweetie." Robin looked at Daryl. "What are they going to do now?"

"I'll take you to Rick, let's go." Daryl got up with his crossbow and left the shack, Robin got up and helped Clementine get up before they walked out the shed into the sunlight.


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you see, oh great eye?" Robin teased. Daryl looked at the ground, looking for tracks of Sophia. He scanned the ground, looking for any sign of the little girls tracks. It's been two weeks! There is no sign of anymore tracks, especially one of a little girl.

"Nothing, the trail ran cold. We'll circle back from the trail and then go west from there."

Robin followed Daryl back down the road they came from. Robin didn't understand how Daryl can track like that. To her it was all dirt, leaves, and twigs. Daryl could see more than that, it kinda impressed her. Daryl stopped walking which almost made Robin bump into him from behind.

"Do you see something?" Robin drew an arrow from her quiver and set it against her bow, getting ready to shoot. Daryl pulled up his crossbow and pointed in front of him. Robin stayed quiet and looked his way. She didn't see any walker, no little girl, no danger; what was Daryl pointing at?

Daryl pulled the trigger and Robin saw the arrow flung through the air and hit a tree…with a squirrel. Robin almost dropped her bow….disgusting. He raced towards it, removing the arrow with the squirrel's body and stuffed the squirrel in his side bag. He rearmed his crossbow and continued walking back down the path.

Robin shook her head; "What the fuck?" She asked out loud.

"What's your problem now?" Daryl asked in return.

"Did you seriously just kill a squirrel? Why would you kill a poor squirrel?"

"Well sorry if it ain't a nice juicy hamburger."

"Please don't talk about hamburgers." Robin groaned, missing the delicious moist ketchup covered meat squished into two buns, this made Daryl laugh.

"You should try it sometime…it tastes like just hamburgers I'm telling ya."

"I rather not and do not show that to Clementine." Robin added.

"How did you meet her anyway? I know she's not really your daughter so why call her your little girl."

Robin sighed; "I was on my way to Florida from New York, I saw her sitting on a tree trunk alone, scared and covered in blood. She's just a little girl, she lost her whole group and I wanted to protect her. Just like how you want to protect Sophia. I don't know anything about this girl or your relationship to her, but I can see you care about this girl or else you wouldn't be searching for her." Daryl stopped in his tracks but didn't face Robin, who was just behind him. "I call Clementine my little girl because I want to protect her and I view her as my daughter. Is that how you viewed Sophia? Like…your daughter?"

"What is this some drama show to you?" Daryl spat at her. "Who are you, Oprah now?"

"I'm just asking a question."

"Well it's none of your damn business." Daryl continued onward, Robin followed again. They tried to pick up the trail again but it was useless, the trail keeps running cold.

* * *

"They shouldn't be in the group, two more mouths to feed when we're already trying to feed ourselves." Andrea argued as she helped Lori pick some eggs from the hens in the chicken coop. Robin and Clementine were welcomed to the group a few days ago since the walker invasion, despite half of the group. Rick vaguely remembers Robin when she talks about Carl or her father, but Rick oddly trusts her and allowed her to stay with Hershel's permission.

"Robin saved us from the walkers; she is trying to earn her keep. Just like us on Hershel's farm"

"That doesn't mean anything. We could've handled it ourselves." Andrea carefully grabbed two eggs and placed it in Lori's basket that made six eggs in total.

"She has a little girl with her. We can't just let them off on their own like that."

"And we're trying to look for Sophia." Andrea rebutted. "Do you think this girl is going to replace Sophia?"

"Andrea, it is not like that! We are not going to replace Carol's daughter. They are here and that is that, now shut up about it before one of them hears you." Lori warned her before she picked another egg.

"Don't you find it weird that this girl…Robin knows you, Rick and Carl?"

"To be honest, I barely do remember her. I know she babysat Carl for a little bit so Rick and I could go out but that's it. And Carl was too young to remember anything."

"And you don't find it strange how Rick just trusts her so easily."

Lori sighed as she scratched her head. "Andrea I don't know alright? But if Rick trusts her, then we should do the same. I don't even have to like his decisions but I will respect his decisions." She gave Andrea a look. "So just back off alright."

Andrea scoffed. She took the egg basket from Lori and turned the leave the coop, but at the entrance she saw Clementine, looking as if she found a grudge to hold. Clementine glared at Andrea before heading off away. Andrea cursed under her breath and left the coop to bring the eggs to the kitchen inside Hershel's house.

* * *

Clementine rubbed her arms, wishing she didn't hear that. At first no one wanted them on the farm but now everyone but Andrea welcomed them. To be honest, Clementine oddly didn't want to be here…last time she went on a farm…it was horrible. She didn't want to see it again. Clementine sat on a box behind the house, she hung her head to face the ground but when she leaned forward she felt the gun pressed up against her back. Quickly she straightened out and pulled down her shirt from behind, they were instructed to not carry weapons on Hershel's farm. But Robin secretly instructed Clementine to carry her gun on her, in case another herd of walkers came and she needed to defend herself.

"Clementine was it?"

Clementine looked up and saw Hershel standing before her, he was quite elderly like a grandfather wearing light colored buttoned shirt and dress pants with dirty shoes. He was holding two buckets that held a whole bunch of vegetables. She nodded in response to his question.

"Mind if you help me to feed the horses? It'll be a big help."

"Oh sure." Clementine stood up and Hershel handed her one of the buckets, it was a little heavy so Clementine had to use both hands. They both started walking to the stables, Clementine then noticed the barn house that wasn't too far away. This made her stop in her tracks.

Last time she was in a barn…Lee, Kenny, Lilly, and Larry…they were all trapped in a meat cooler. Larry was killed and when she escaped through an air duct, she saw the room was a natural slaughter house. She could throw up just thinking about it.

"You coming?" Hershel called out from the entrance of the stables. Clementine snapped out of it and ran towards the stables, unknowingly dropping a carrot or two. She joined Hershel in the stables where she saw a few horses in their rooms. Hershel went towards a brown horse and began to pet him; "This is Nelly. The white one over there is Billy." He pointed to white horse whose room was right next to Nelly. "You feed the both of them, I'm going to feed Vince and Katarina." He pointed to two more black horses on the opposite side.

Clementine nodded and put the bucket down to grabs some pieces of carrots to feed Nelly. Hershel did the same thing with Vince. "Something on your mind, Clementine?"

The little girl looked at Hershel, he was smiling at the horse. "You have the same look my late wife, Josephine, had; when she was in deep in thought, she just had this silly look on her face until I asked what was wrong with her…or atleast until she would tell me." He chuckled.

"Last time…when I was in a farm….it was kinda bad." Clementine confessed. "They were…still alive but they were still eating people. I forgot what they were called."

"Cannibalism." Hershel corrected. "They were cannibals."

"Yeah, those. They killed one of my friends and he turned into one of those things. Then the farm got overrun and we left."

"You know…for a girl your age, I'm surprised you lasted this long."

"A lot of people underestimate me." Clementine brushed her hand against Nelly's neck. "I hate it."

"You don't need to hate it. It could be useful, gives people a surprise they'll never see coming." Hershel tried to cheer her up.

It did make Clementine smile a little bit, when she saw she was half way done with the bucket and pet Nelly one more time before heading to Billy to feed him. "Do you think they'll find Sophia?"

Hershel sighed; "I don't know. I am praying that your people do, I can't imagine one of my girls being out there by themselves."

Clementine gave Billy a piece of cabbage before looking at Hershel. "Do you believe?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific, Clementine." Hershel gave her a look before moving on to Katarina to feed her and stroke her neck.

"Do you believe we're going to find her?"

"I already told"-

"To believe and to think have different meanings." She pointed out. "Do you believe?"

Hershel sighed, but before he could answer, Robin came in to the stables and saw them feeding the horses. "Hey, Rick said he saw you two here."

"Did you find her?" Clementine asked immediately.

"No, I'm sorry Clem. It's starting to get dark and we lost the trail. We're going to try again tomorrow." Robin crotched down in front of Clementine and stroked her face. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, Hershel was showing me his horses."

"She's a good little helper." Hershel complimented. "It would be great if she would keep an eye on the horses for a little bit."

"I would like that." Clementine smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

"Clem, I'm back!"

Robin yelled up the tree, Clem was on the top branch of the tallest tree they can find. Robin gave her binoculars they borrowed from Glenn and Clementine climbed the highest tree they can find so she could have a clear view of the land. So far all she saw was a clear view of the farm and a big field of nothing, she doesn't even spy a walker but no little girl.

She looked down and saw Robin looking up at her. "Hi." She greeted.

"How's the weather up there?" Robin asked.

"It's ok I guess." Clementine looked in the binoculars again. "I can't see anything yet."

"Ok, I'm going to check a few more miles down east then I'll turn around. I'll be back soon."

"Got it!" Clementine responded. She watched Robin walk off into the woods again; they described Sophia to her. She was supposedly a little taller than her with short dirty blond hair and was wearing a blue shirt with capris. Clementine looked through the binoculars again and scouted the woods; trees and branches and dry leaves.

She gave up, setting the binoculars on her chest and leaned her back against the tree. She hoped they would find this Sophia by now but since it's been almost three weeks, she was actually starting to lose faith.

"Clementine?"

She looked down from the tree, not expecting Robin to be back so soon. Instead she saw a man, an African American man in his 30s wearing a black jacket with light jeans. He was leaning his hands against the tree looking up at her.

It was Lee.

Tears filled up Clementine's eyes…he was suppose to be dead. But he was standing right below her.

"Le-Lee?"

"Hey Clem, what'cha doing up there?"

"I…um…I-I-" She couldn't speak. What could she possibly say? What could she think?! Lee was dead! She shot him!

"Clem? Sweetie, come down. You're going to get yourself hurt." Lee smiled up at her. Clementine couldn't help but smile in return. She nodded in agreement and branch by branch she climbed down, she couldn't stop smiling. Lee was alive! He wasn't a walker! He wasn't dead! Clementine couldn't get down fast enough! She finally got down on the lowest branch and jumped off right into Lee's arms. He chuckled as he embraced her. Clementine couldn't control her tears, they spilled on Lee's jacket as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He was so warm and soft, just like Clementine remembered.

"I missed you Lee. I missed you so much!" She cried. Though Lee didn't reply back, instead his grip tightened on her body and it started to hurt her. He didn't feel warm anymore, instead he felt rough and cold. "Lee?" Suddenly Lee bit into her neck and ripped out a chunk of her skin. She pushed herself off and she grabbed her skin when she hit the ground. Lee was standing before her not as his normal self but as a walker. Clementine backed away from Lee until her back hit the tree behind her, not leaving her enough time to run just as Lee jumped on her and ripped her neck apart. She screamed with pain until she opened her eyes and quickly grabbed the branch in front of her before she fell to her death.

It was all a dream.

Clementine felt her body shaking with adrenaline and her heart beat against her chest. She saw the binoculars on the ground below her, she tried to steady herself and tried to control her tears.

_Lee was gone Clementine, he isn't coming back. _Clementine told herself. She wiped her tears away and when she calmed down she started to climb down the tree. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking with fear, she kept looking down making sure no one was below her to eat her. She jumped down on the ground and grabbed the binoculars, luckily the glass wasn't broken. She sighed and leaned her back against the tree once more, she took deep breathes. She never had a dream like that before, so why have them now.

"Clem? Are you ok?!" Robin came running towards her with her bow at hand, she seemed out of breath and had more blond stains on her shirt than she last saw her with. Clementine made sure she looked fine before she stood up and met with Robin.

"What happened to you? You look like you saw a ghost." Robin was being her usual mother worried self.

"No I um…I dropped the binoculars and I climbed down to get it. But what happened to you? There's blood all over you!"

"Just crashed into a walker or two, that's all." Robin chuckled. "Let's go back to the farm and get some lunch. You must be hungry by now."

Clementine nodded, Robin wrapped an arm around Clementine's shoulder and they both walked back to the farm.

* * *

"Come on dad, why can't I go with you?" Carl followed his father after he came back from his journey with Shane, pinning small towels to trees that leads to Hershel's farm in case she saw the trail. "I want to help look for Sophia too."

"Carl, you were just shot. You're barely on your feet now." Rick stated.

"I'm fine dad!" Carl retorted. "I can walk fine."

"You mother wouldn't approve of it anyway. She's still worried sick about you. We'll find a way for you to help look for Sophia."

"Then why does Clementine gets to go? She's younger than I am what makes her so special."

Rick sighed and kneeled before his son, trying to think of an explanation. "First off Carl…Clementine isn't my child. Second, I believe Clementine has more state of mind than you to. She knows her surroundings and I believe she is more mature than you are."

This silenced Carl, probably he was right.

"I'm not saying this to hurt you, Carl. But right now, we may be safe but at the same time, we're in a dangerous position. You have to think before you act or you will die, do you understand?" Carl nodded. "I promise I will find some way to help you find Sophia. But for now, I need you to stay put and close to your mother." Rick got up and grabbed Carl's shoulder in reassurance. From afar Carl saw Robin and Clementine returning from their trip, they were smiling amongst themselves and giggling. Maybe Carl should ask Clementine how does she do it? How Carl could be as mature as her so his parents could trust him enough to not think of him as a kid.

* * *

Today's lunch menu

Chili with bread slices by Chef Carol!

The group gathered around the camp fire as the chili was equally shared in the group and every grabbed two slices of bread that Hershel's wife, Patricia, baked for them. The group was rather quiet around the fire, they were all tired from doing chores or going around the forest looking for Sophia.

Glenn was sitting not too far from Robin who was sitting next to Clementine, he was carefully eyeing her bow and quiver of arrows that was sitting next to her He took a bite of his bread before getting up the courage to ask; "Hey Robin, I was wonder if after lunch, can you teach me how to shoot an arrow? I always wanted to do that."

"Oh sure, no problem." Robin said with her mouth full before swallowing. "But mind you it's actually harder than it looks."

"Stop scaring the boy." Daryl commented, he was sitting the opposite side of her, scooping up some chili with a piece of bread. "Pulling an arrow on a string? Clementine can do that crap."

"Because she was taught by the best." Robin commented. "I don't know if you remember what I told you when you were beating me, they called me Robin Hood for a reason in high school and college." She took a bite of her bread. "A crossbow is a good mechanism for a so called hunter, but you have far less limited arrows and you have to have at least four seconds to reload before a walker tries to eat you and in between that time, I could shoot at least five more arrows. I highly doubt you can even hit a possible target with my bow."

They all looked at Daryl for his response, he smirked. "Alright."

Robin looked at him, confused at his response. "Say what?"

"I'll take that bet." He licked his fingers form the chili sauce. "Three targets, I'll use your bow but you have to use my crossbow. Best two out of three is the superior."

"Alright, you're on." Robin accepted his challenge. "But if I win, I want a foot massage…a very 'long' foot massage."

Clementine giggled at her request,

"Alright, a foot massage ain't that bad. But what if I win?"

Robin was about to give a response but her mind went blank…what could she give him? He barely does his chores since he's always out hunting…he doesn't have a lot of things and he always cleans his bike. What could she possibly give a redneck?

Glenn was smiling to himself; he had to be a part of this. "How about an 'oil change'?"

Most of the adults choked on their lunch, some by surprise and some by humor. Clementine and Carl were confused, what's so surprising about an oil change? Was it that hard to change a car's oil?

Robin chuckled, she knew exactly what Glenn meant. "Ok, what Glenn said, if you win, I'll give you an 'oil change'." She winked at him and Daryl chuckled.

"Well I'm not usually the one that refuses to something like that. You're on."


	8. Chapter 8

**I AM SO SORRY THAT I UPDATED LATE! **

**SORRY SORRY SORRY! Work! School! You know the drill! SORRY I hope I haven't lost you! **

**Please read and review~**

Before their little match, Hershel told them to continue their search for Sophia before putting away their weapons for the day. Daryl went off on his own and search south, Rick joined Robin and Clementine to the east; they found a sturdy tree so Clementine can climb up and Robin and Rick went out on their way.

Carefully they swept the land in front of them, looking for any sign of Sophia.

"Hey Rick before…all of this happened? Did you see my parents? Were they walkers?" Robin asked for a second.

Rick sighed; "To be honest, I don't know. I remember talking to your dad before going off with Shane on patrol. He was planning on going up with your mother for a surprise after your exams. But there was this car chase and I got shot in the process. After coming out of the coma, the world was already gotten to shit."

Robin frowned a little, she was hoping to hear some news about her parents or at least the fact her parents were permanently dead and not walking around looking for the next human to eat. "If I knew the apocalypse was going to be upon us, I wouldn't have wasted money going off to college and stayed with my family."

"What were you studying anyway? I think your dad mentioned something about a doctor."

Robin smirked; "My father wanted me to study medicine but I didn't know what I wanted to be yet. So until then, that was my major."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Not a damn thing."

Robin chuckled, Rick did the same. "I was always blowing off my studies, going to my archery club, going out with friends and on dates, just fooling around."

"We all did that in our freshman year." Rick commented.

"Yeah." Robin grinned but then it disappeared. "When sophomore year came, I decided that I am going to major in medicine but then the whole world went to hell." She sighed and pulled back her greasy bangs before they slid their way back to the side of her face. "They were telling people to get off the roads and to stay inside. I called my parents and texted them so many times. But when I came down, the house was empty but there was no car so I thought they made it somewhere. I found the walkers everywhere on the streets and I ran for my life. Eventually I came across Clementine though and here we are now."

"Hmm…well I'm glad you're here. It brings back a piece of mind, a familiar face. When I woke up from my coma, I keep saying to myself I wouldn't find anyone, I would just see dead people all over the place. But I found my wife and son…my best friend…and you."

This made Robin smile, she didn't know if her parents were alive or dead but she too was glad that she had someone from her past, especially a friend of her father's.

* * *

Clementine spied through her binoculars and saw a woodpecker through the glass. It's been a while since Rick and Robin left. She hoped they were alright. She leaned her back on the tree and looked up at the sky, the clear blue sky.

"Argh! Just shut up!"

Clementine senses were high on alert, she heard Daryl voice scream nearby. Wasn't he searching on the south side? She climbed down the tree and followed the sound of the scream. She took out her gun from her belt and switched the safety off.

"Daryl?" She screamed for his name. "Daryl!?"

She headed off on her own, listening for the slightest sounds. She then heard a walker growling and the grunts of someone attacking it. She followed the sounds, she came across a dirty man leaning over a dead walker. There were sounds of hacking in the process, enough to make her almost throw up but she didn't see what the dirty man was doing. She pointed her gun up and circled around him to see him clearly.

"Daryl?" She gasped and stepped away quickly. He was putting on a recently cut ear on a string of ears and was putting it back around his neck. She softly trembled, he was covered in blood, sweat and dirt. His ripped sleeves were tied around his waist to cover a bloody wound. He glared at her and she took another step back.

She knew he wasn't a walker but she didn't like the way he was looking at her. He got on his feet and dragging his crossbow on the ground and started walking towards to her. Clementine's hands trembled and she continued to step back before her back hit a tree.

She couldn't shoot.

She couldn't shoot him.

He wasn't but two feet in front of her and his expression didn't change.

"Are you going to shoot me or what?"

This brought Clementine back and she slowly lowered her gun.

"Wh-Why are you…covered in..blood? And..the ears? What are you"-

"None of your business…where's your babysitter?"

"…Robin didn't come back and neither did Rick for a while. I heard your voice and I got worried."

"I don't need no 6 year old to look after me."

"I'm 10."

"Whatever." Daryl grunted at her and grabbed the arrow from the walkers head before reloading his crossbow. "Go back to your babysitter. Leave me alone."

Before he walked away Clementine put her gun away and grabbed her hand. "Daryl, you're not ok." She pointed out his wound on his waist. "Come back with me, Herhsel can-"

With a jolt, Daryl pushed her back and made her fall on the floor. "I'm not your fucking father! I don't need a child on my back. Just fucking go!"

He left, grumbling under his breath, she heard him say the name Merle before completely disappearing. Clementine sighed. He wasn't alright and she knew it.

Clementine traveled back to her tree and climbed on a branch close to the ground incase Robin and Rick came back soon.

She actually almost drifted off to take a nap until she heard Robin call her name, making her snap out of it and jump start her brain.

"Clem, whatcha doing on that branch sweetie? Did you see something?"

"I uh…I thought I heard you coming but it was my imagination, plus I was getting kinda sick up there." She gave them a smile, she didn't know whether she should tell them about Daryl.

"Well we went a few miles over from where we were supposed to but we ended up in a valley. We're gonna head back now." Rick stated.

Clementine nodded and jumped down as they started to walk back to the farm. Robin had her arm on Clementine's shoulder while her other arm held her bow on her shoulder, she whispered to Clementine how before they have their little game, they should find some apples as a little treat. The farm was clear in view but suddenly they saw Shane and Glenn running towards them.

Why would they run towards them? And why did they look worried?

Clementine was the first to turn around and slightly shrieked, Daryl was right behind them and he looked worse and more like a walker than when she saw him before. Robin and Rick turned around and were a bit surprised to see Daryl in the state that he is.

He was panting hard and they noticed the ring of ears around his neck. "What the fuck are y'all looking at?"

"We were expecting big foot, but you'll have to do." Robin joked.

"Daryl, what the hell happened out"-

**BANG!**

A gun shot was shot from the camp and whisked by Rick and Robin, they all blinked and they saw Daryl fall to the ground…lifeless.


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl laid in bed, staring at the ceiling…for the past two hours. Hershel managed to patch him up and treat his wound, he could oddly feel his pulse underneath the cloth pressing against his skin…it felt weird. He ate the dinner Carol brought him a while ago, it was pretty good he'll have to admit. He wanted a little more but he didn't want to get up.

He had his back towards the door but he heard the sound of heavy boots entering the room. He closed his eyes to pretend he was asleep, he really didn't want to talk to anyone right now…until he heard a familiar voice.

"No need to pretend to be sleeping, little Darlina.I know you're awake."

He opened his eyes and saw his older brother Merle, a tall Caucasian shaved head redneck with shaggy clothing, sitting in front him. He was playing with a little hunting knife in his hand, twirling it around. Daryl groaned at the sight.

"What'cha doing here, little brother? Got a boo-boo? Want me to kiss it to make it better?" Merle mocked in a baby voice. "Or did that Sheriff already do that?"

Daryl didn't reply, he just glared at the illusion of his older brother.

"You know, it's just killing me to look at you like this. It really hurts me. All of those years of teaching you my religion and teaching you how to be a man! Wasted! It's all wasted. You've grown into a pussy bitch, that's what you are now." Merle placed the hunting knife in his boot and got up from the chair, pacing around the room. "You actually think that these people care about you, patching you up and giving you a hot meal. We ain't no charity!"

"They are doing more than you ever did." Daryl replied.

"HA! Oh was that supposed to hurt me? What? Was I supposed to bring you some fancy good dinner and kiss you goodnight like that mouse did? You are a weak son of a bitch, I taught you better than this."

"You're not real."

Merle chuckled under his breath. "Not real? Oh you're just saying I'm a figment of your imagination. Ok, ok I see how that is." Merle straighten his shirt and stepped beside the bed, Daryl used his elbows to prop himself up. Suddenly, Merle jumped on Daryl who was unguarded. Merle yanked Daryl's hair causing Daryl to groan and grab his hand, trying to get him off.

"You're saying I'm not real?! Huh, little brother?!"

"Get the fuck off me."

"Then get me off, bitch." Merle spat at him. "Get me off! Or you can call your little Sherriff buddy to get me off, that'll be a rematch I've been dying for!" He laughed as he saw Daryl struggling to get him off. "What about that little minx Robin?"

Daryl stopped when Merle said her name, making him grin. "Ah so you like the little minx huh? That's the reason why you didn't kill her when you had a chance."

"She had a kid with her!"

"Nah-ah-ah, don't use the little mouse. I've seen the way you look at her. You're just dying to bring her to bed just like how she wanted to give you that blowjob."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Daryl spat at him with rage.

"Tell me I'm fucking lying! You want to screw that minx ever since she went hunting with you, face it, you are just like me but you are just pathetic."

Daryl managed to grab Merle's shirt and flipped him over, causing them to fall off the bed. Daryl was expecting for Merle's body to break his fall but instead his face hit the cold wooden floor and his body collapsed. He groaned loudly in pain as the pain of his waist throbbed strong, he grabbed his waist and rolled on his back. He breathed deeply to calm down, he wasn't real.

It was just a dream.

"Daryl!?" Robin quickly came into the room and saw him on the ground in pain. With a swift movement, she hooked her arms underneath his and hoisted him up. "Come on, big boy, let's get you back to bed."

"Let me go!" Daryl pushed her off, causing him to land on his knees and she clashed into the nightstand, the lamp shook by the clash but she manage to grab the tray of a dirty dish before it hit on the ground. Maggie would kill them if the dish broke.

She turned her attention back to Daryl; "What is your problem? I'm just trying to help." She quickly went to help him get back on the bed but Daryl managed to get back on the bed on his own.

"I don't need your help. I don't need you or your 6 year old brat."

"Wait, Clementine is 10."

"I don't give a fuck! Just go!"

"Why are you like this? Why do you refuse to let people help you?" Robin argued.

"I said just go, you fucking bitch!"

They both glared at each other, Robin shook her head and sighed. She couldn't do anything about him, he was a hopeless case. "You know what fine. Do whatever the fuck you want. I'm done."

Robin left, leaving Daryl alone one again.

**Sorry if its a little short~, next chapter will be long I promise!**


	10. Chapter 10

Daryl slept in the house until the next morning, throughout half the night he almost suffocated due to the fact he put the pillow over his head to block out his brothers voice. His brother was supposedly gone or worse, dead…how could he still be in Daryl's mind? He was suppose to move forward.

When morning came, Merle couldn't be heard to Daryl's relief. He jumped out of bed only to slow down due to the pain on his waist. He traveled through Hershel's home, luckily no one was inside and went out onto the campsite. The smell of eggs tickled his nostrils and he almost drooled. He regained himself and went towards his group, he silently gave them a good morning and Carol gave him a plate of scrambled eggs. Robin looked up at him to knowledge his existence but concentrated back to Clementine; the little girl sat between Robin's legs so Robin could play with her hair. On each side of her head, Robin managed to make a braid to come around and tied in the end with the purple hairclips she always had. Robin finished her masterpiece and Clementine reached up to feel it, she grinned as Robin wrapped her arms around Clem to hug her and gave her a kiss.

Daryl saw them from the corner of his eye and slightly smile; Clementine did look a little cute with the new braids in her hair and he also came to like Robin's smile for some reason-

Wait a minute. What was he thinking? This was a new feeling for him, he couldn't understand it. His relationship with everyone in his group. When they were closer to Atlanta, the group couldn't stand him but now he could see them warming up to him and slowly earning his trust. He was starting to like that feeling and he was slowly accepting it.

Glenn felt his throat go dry as Dale gave him a look. He softly groaned and got up to face the group.

"Hey guys, there's something I have to tell you."

Breakfast stopped automatically and everyone swallowed the eggs before looked up to Glenn. Glenn nervously played with his hands, looked down at his feet and then back to his group, who were waiting on what he had to say.

"There's walkers in the barn."

It was in that moment, everyone hearts stopped.

They couldn't believe Glenn. The barn full of walkers and they were living right next to it, how did they not see this?

* * *

They dropped their breakfast to inspect the barn to see for themselves. Shane was the first one to inspect it, peeking in the cracks between the wood. Glenn was right; it was full of walkers. Something had to be done.

Angrily, Shane paced back and forth, rubbing his sweaty head and spat at Rick; "You can't seriously be alright with this?!"

"Of course I'm not, but we are on Hershel's land!" Rick argued.

"There is a barn full of walkers!" Andrea added. "This is not something you sweep under the rug."

"Can everyone just keep it down!" Said Glenn as he nervously looked back at the house, realizing what he did.

"This aint right." Said Shane. "This isn't right. We have to either get rid of them or we have to go! This is insane!"

"Shane, we can't just go. Carol's daughter is still out there." Robin argued to help the option of them to stay.

Shane sighed and tried to gather his words as nicely as he could so no one would go off on him. "Ok, yo-you know, we have to start thinking of the other possibility. We have been searching for weeks, we went through most of this god damn land and left signs for this little girl. But its time to face reality."

"We are not abandoning my daughter!" Carol yelled at him.

"I'm this close to finding this girl, I just found her doll a few days ago." Daryl backed up Carol.

"That's all you did Daryl. You found a fucking doll! Not Sophia." Said Shane. "And lets be clear here, if she ever saw you all bloodied out and mucked up with a ring of ears, she would've ran the other way. She probably saw you and ran for her god damn life."

"Don't put this shit on me!" Daryl jumped to grab him but the group got into the argument to split them up. Insults and screams scattered everywhere until finally they pulled back the two grownups as they tried to calm down.

"Just let me talk to Hershel! This isn't right!" Rick yelled at Shane, who started to pace again.

"Hershel sees these things as sick people." Dale stepped up to calm the situation. "Even some people he knew are in there and his wife and stepson. I'm not saying this is right but we have to see from his point of view!"

"You fucking knew about this?! This whole time!" Shane was angry at Dale for keeping the secret.

"Yes, we survived one more night didn't we? We have to think rationally about this! His family is in there."

"Fuck rational! We have to do something now!" Shane yelled, making the walkers more attracted to the noise and banged on the wooden doors and growled on the fresh meat not too far from them. Everyone took a few steps back in alert and fright to their new threat.

* * *

Robin helped Shane to secure the barn and kept watch, but she was more worried about Clementine. She remembered the look on her face when they found out about the walkers in the barn. She specifically remembered the story Clementine told her last time she was on a farm. It was a butter farm but things weren't as they seem. There were bandits near the farm and how she almost ate human meat. They were locked in a meat locker and she saw a slaughter house. She knew Clementine was scared and Robin was doing everything she could to comfort her. When Shane came to take over, Robin left to find Clementine but before she did, she entered Hershel's home and stole an apple from the kitchen. She knew even for a second it would make Clementine smile. She snuck out the back and hid the apple in her shirt before anyone saw her.

Robin entered the tent where she and Clementine slept and found her little girl. The young girl quickly stuffed something in her backpack when she heard Robin opening the tent. It sounded like crumbling paper, and moved her arm across her face quickly.

"Hey sweetie. I have something for you." Robin laid down next to her, using her elbow to prop herself up but Clementine turned her head, refusing to look at her guardian. Then she revealed the apple and tried to show it to her. "I got a little present for you, it's your favorite. It's red and juicy." Robin's smile disappeared when she saw Clementine's backpack on her lap, it was bigger than it was yesterday and the gun she was given was lying on top of it.

Robin got concern and put down the apple. There was a moment of silence until finally she spoke; "Clementine, tell me what's wrong?"

"I want to leave."

"Why?"

"…I don't want to be here."

"Is this because what happened earlier today?"

Clementine was silent for a moment, she still wouldn't look at Robin who was waiting for her answer.

"I…just don't feel…safe anymore. This place…I don't like it, it doesn't feel right. I want to go."

"Sweetie, we can't just up and go. We have to have a plan."

"We did it before we can do it again."

"Cle"-

"I made a promise!" Clementine turned her head to face Robin. "I…I have to keep moving. We have to keep moving." Her eyes were almost in tears; this caused Robin to quickly sit up and caressed her little girl's face.

"Shh! Shh! It's ok sweetie, it's ok."

"I promised Lee…I would keep moving. I..I don't want to leave without you but…please…"

Robin leaned her head onto Clementine's, she could feel her softly shaking. She was trying to be strong but it was slowly fading away. Robin wanted to keep Clementine safe, she would give her life for her. She knew being on this farm would keep Clementine safe but she didn't believe it. Robin sighed and looked at Clem; "Let me think about it. Ok? This farm is secure and you know this too. If we act irrational then we're both dead." She stroked Clementine's head and she felt Clementine's head nod against her forehead.

"I'll talk to Rick, maybe if we have to, he'll give us a car. But for now, we have to stay ok."

"But Robin"-

"We have to stay." Robin repeated with a stern voice for Clementine to understand. She kissed Clementine on the forehead to comfort her.

* * *

"Hey."

Robin was sitting on a rocking chair with a knee on her chest, she was deep in thought until Daryl interrupted her thinking. He leaned on the ledge in front of her as Robin brought her knee down.

"Hey. Is Carol ok?"

"She's fine, I just had a little walk with her. I told her I would find Sophia."

"So tin man, you do have a heart." Robin softly chuckled to herself, but Daryl's lips slightly tugged to make a little smile.

"What else do I have to do anyway?" Daryl rhetorically asked.

Robin rubbed the back of her neck and leaned back against the chair so she can rock back and forth.

"Clementine wants to leave." Robin told him, he looked at her as he listened. "She doesn't feel safe anymore."

"None of us do." Daryl added.

Robin shook her head. "She was telling me, last time she was on a farm, her group was almost killed by bandits and the people that sheltered her fed them human meat and they locked her in a slaughterhouse. I really don't know what to make of that, I seriously can't compare them and think which one is worse. I want to make her safe but every day, I fear that this situation gets worse and worse."

She sighed and leaned forward towards him. "What would you do? Would you leave or stay?"

"Is Rick back yet?"

Andrea interrupted them as she came up with T-Dog, he raised a brow at them. "I thought you were with Rick."

"I was supposed to be, he went off with Hershel but never came back."

Strange.

Something was going on. Robin got off her rocking chair and joined Daryl on the ledge.

"God damn it." Daryl cursed.

"Let's not get worked up." Robin calmed him down.

"No one is taking this fucking serious, we're suppose to find Sophia." Daryl was about to storm off but Robin grabbed his arm.

"And being mad isn't going to solve anything, now calm the fuck down."

"Robin!" Clementine came running towards them with a worried face. Robin hopped over the ledge and grabbed her.

"What is it, Clem?"

"Sh-Shane-Shane has the guns, I saw him go to the forest with Dale but Dale never came back."

"What?" Robin looked up and saw Shane walking towards them with the bag of guns. She saw he had a wild look in his eye and pulled Clem behind her so she couldn't be involved…this will not end good.

"Where's Dale, Shane?" Robin asked him.

"He's on his way." Shane replied but past by her as he dropped the bag of guns and pulled out two rifles and threw one to Daryl who gladly caught it.

"You with me Daryl?"

"Hell yeah." He cocked the gun and stepped off the porch.

"What is going on!" Maggie came out of the house with Glenn, angry at what Shane was doing. "Why are your guns out?"

"It's time to wake up and pay attention. This place isn't safe anymore! Being farm boys and cutting up vegetables, there is a barn full of walkers next door and we're pretending it's alright! Well its not!" He gave the rifle to Glenn who nervously took it.

"Stop this my dad will make you leave tonight!" Maggie yelled at him.

"Shane!" Robin tried to stop him.

He turned his attention on her and took out another rifle to give to her. "No!"

"Are you going to protect this group, Robin, yes or no?! Are you with us or not?!" He yelled at her.

"I want to help but not like this!"

"Ok then Clem, you take it." He was about to hand the gun to Clem who took a step back.

"I don't want it."

"Come on honey, you have to take it. Its survival of the fittest, are you with me?"

Robin pushed Shane back. "Enough! You do not talk to her like that!"

"What the hell is that?!" T-Dog pointed out. Everyone turned their attention to where T-Dog was pointing at, they saw Hershel and Rick leading two walkers out of the forest with poles around their necks. Jimmy was clapping and yelling to get the walkers attention and they were walking towards the barn.

What the fuck?

Everyone sprinted towards them, they wanted answers now!

"What is this Rick!"

"Shane just back off!"

"No! Fuck this shit! What the hell are you doing this?!"

"Why do your people have guns?!" Hershel yelled at them.

"Are you kidding me!? See?! See what they're doing!"

"Shane! Back off!" Rick yelled at him.

"These things are dead! They aren't people! They kill! All they do is kill! This old man right here wants us to believe that they are alive but they're not! This is sick!"

"Shane, shut up! We can discuss this"-

"No! Cause there isn't anything to talk about Rick! This is sick! You are dangering everyone here! You are helping this sick old son of a bitch!" Shane took out his gun and shot at the female walker Hershel was holding on to. "See that? One in the stomach, one in the chest, one in the lung! Why is she still walking!?"

He shot again.

"Two more, one in the heart! One in the other lung! She is still coming! No human can do that!"

"Shane stop it!" Rick continue to yell at him while trying to retain the walker he held.

"That's right. It's time to stop it!" Shane came closer to the female walker and shot her in the head, making the walker fall and Hershel kneeled to the ground, amazed at what happened.

"Sophia is gone! Gone! All of you! She is gone! And it's time to get rid of this!" He grabbed a ax and walked towards the barn. Robin reacted quickly and jumped on Shane's back, trying to stop him from releasing the walkers. He dropped the ax and swung from side to side trying to get her off. T-Dog stepped up and released her from Shane's back. Despite her yells to stop him, Shane picked up the ax again and destroyed the locks on the barn doors until the metallic chains fell. He dropped the ax and took out his gun.

The doors slowly swung open and the walkers began to file out and charge at them. T Dog let Robin go and joined Shane in the firing. Daryl joined, then Andrea and Glenn. Everyone watched in horror as the walkers went down one by one. The Greene family cried out as they saw their family and friends being shot down. Robin collected Clementine, grabbing her gun she hid in the back of her pants and pointed at the crowd of walkers in case any of them came near.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

What felt like an eternity seemed like seconds as bullets rang through the air and the bodies collapsed on the floor, finally it stopped. Everyone panted as the adrenaline rush wore off and they looked at the sea of corpses. They heard another growl and Shane lifted the gun but when the walker came out…

It wasn't an ordinary walker.

It was a child.

It was Sophia.

No one believed their eyes. It couldn't be. It can't be. The walker child stepped towards them, limping over the dead bodies towards them. Carol cried out for her daughter and ran towards her but Daryl stopped her just in time before she got close. This nightmare was a reality, no one had the guts to do anything.

Rick finally stepped up and pulled out his gun , he stepped infront of Sophia and pointed the gun on her head. She growled louder at him and tried to bite him.

Rick took a deep breath and counted in his head.

3

2

1

BANG!

* * *

**Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! I am back! For now! XD**

**I made this chapter a very long chapter in order to make up for what I have lost~! Hoped you enjoyed it!**

**Tune in next week!...or possibly tomorrow! Good night! I'm going to sleep now!**


	11. Chapter 11

Carol spent majority of the afternoon in the RV, seeing the sea of corpses…seeing Sophia. Dead on the ground.

Sophia didn't get lost.

She didn't cry herself to sleep or hid in the trees.

Sophia died a long time ago.

She couldn't attend the funeral, her heart ached too much. She couldn't take it. Clementine stepped into the RV and saw Carol sitting at the table. Her right hand rested on her forehead as a few tears drops and her left hand rested on the table, trembling with despair. She didn't even notice Clementine's presence. The little girl came closer to her and sat next to the empty seat and gently grabbed her hand to make the trembling stop. Carol sniffed before looking at her; gently Clementine rested her head against Carol's shoulder before Carol rested her head on hers. Her crying did stop momentarily.

Clementine knew how Carol felt, she was the same way when she saw her parents as walkers…and when Lee…

Clementine let a tear fall down her cheek. She didn't want to leave Carol alone for now.

* * *

Few words were said at the funeral, a daughter, step son and wife were buried today. Shane oddly felt guilty for opening the barn, he was just under the pressure. He didn't mean it, if he found out if Sophia was in there, things would've ended up differently.

Robin was furious at him, they just needed to wait. They could've made the barn more secure, they could've lived a little while longer next to a barn full of walkers. They did for almost two months didn't they? This group was falling apart, no one was thinking straight and clearly, they act first and think of the consequences later. Of course in an apocalypse you have to act fast, but this situation could've been controlled. She didn't want to leave Rick and his family behind…but she had to think about Clementine's safety first.

When people scattered about, trying to go back to their normal day, Robin came back to the RV to get Clementine. But she nor Carol could be found. That's weird. She got out of the RV and saw Dale on top of the RV.

"Hey Dale! Did Clementine and Carol go somewhere together."

"Um, I know Clementine went back to her tent and Carol went off near the shack."

"Oh ok thanks!"

Robin jogged towards their tent and leaned down to enter the clothed house. "Hey, Clementine, let's get out of"-

No Clementine. She wasn't in the tent either. What the hell? Her things were still here, her clothes, her extra pair of sneakers but there was no gun and the magazines she held in her bag pocket were gone as well. Where was Clementine? Robin's heart started to beat rapidly with fear. She opened everyone's tent to see if her little girl was hiding in there.

Nothing.

She checked the shack, back in the barn, near the creek, where the hell was she?

She ran inside the house, her first suspicion is raiding the kitchen of apples. Robin remembered her life in college when she was depressed, she raided her cabinets for the biggest bag of chips she had. She checked under the tables and the kitchen, then she went upstairs and found Rick, Glenn and Magggie. They were going through Hershel's things but there wasn't a Hershel either.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Beth is in some sort of state of shock." Rick replied. "And we can't find Hershel anywhere."

"First Clementine is missing and now Hershel, what the fuck?" She muttered under her breath.

"Clementine is missing?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah, after the funeral I can't find her anywhere. Do you think she is with Hershel?" Robin asked.

"It's possible, yeah." Rick looked through Hershel's things and found a leather covered flask on top of the drawer.

"Didn't take Hershel for much of a drinker." Rick commented as he showed the rest. Maggie recognized what it was and took it from him.

"It was my father's in his drinking days, he promised to quit drinking when I was born. He never even allowed liquor in the house."

"Is there a bar he used to go to?"

"This um…The Carriage Bar. I didn't pay much attention to it before"-

"The Carriage Bar! That's the one next to the pharmacy." Glenn stepped in.

"Well that's the place we should look first." Rick stated. "Glenn you're coming with me."

"I'm coming with you too." Robin added.

"Fine, we leave in five minutes." They all left Hershel's room and prepared themselves for their upcoming journey. Robin went back to her tent and collected her bow and quiver full of arrows. She saw Clementine's stuff on her sleeping bag, still stuffed from when she packed it earlier. Robin couldn't help herself and put her bow on her bed before grabbing Clementine's bag. Opening it, the first thing she saw was a crumbled paper. She took it out and it was a torn picture of a black man, probably in his 30s or 40s, wearing a brown jacket with jeans. She remembered Clementine looking at this when they camped in the forest, she remembered this man's name was Lee. Clementine is probably missing this…wherever she was.

She carefully folded it and put it in her back pocket, she collected her bow and left the tent. Then she saw Daryl rolling his tent up and tying it to his motorcycle. She felt sorry for him, she accompanied him on the search for Sophia and every day he was the first to go out there in the forest. Everything was in vain, she knew it was eating him on the inside. She didn't even know what to with him. She walked up from behind, she tried to stop so she couldn't get too close but her body was not responding. Immediately, she wrapped her arms around his waist and her cheek was pressed against his back.

He stunk, he seriously needed a shower.

But she felt him stiffen up. He didn't know how to react and she swore that he stopped breathing but she didn't let go. Robin gave him a tight squeeze before loosening up, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry for everything." Daryl didn't say anything, nor did he do anything, he didn't bother to look at her. Robin finally let go of Daryl without saying another word and left to join Rick and Glenn.

Robin joined Rick in the truck and waited for Glenn, who was talking to Maggie. They couldn't understand what they were saying but Maggie gave Glenn a kiss but it didn't seem that Glenn was affected. Glenn left Maggie and sat next to Robin in the truck and Rick took off.

While the drive there, things were quiet in the truck, everyone had their eye on the road but Glenn felt uneasy for some reason as he looked out the window chewing his fingernail.

"Girl trouble?" Robin finally asked, Rick couldn't help but smirk, he was there before.

"Um…I don't really know…You were in a relationship before right, Robin?"

"Yes, I have been."

"How do you know…or how did you know when it's time to say I love you? I mean…I never said it before and…Maggie just said it…and I…I didn't know whether I should've said it back."

"I remember when my boyfriend first said it to me."

"Did you say it back?"

"Hmm, nope, we broke up because I didn't say it back?"

"That doesn't help my case." Glenn groaned. "It's probably girl hormones or maybe she's on her period…"

Rick couldn't help but laugh as Robin crossed her arms and glared at Glenn who in return realized what he said. "Th-That's not what I meant!"

"Maggie is a grown woman, she should know how she feels. You love her don't you?"

"Well yes…I guess."

"It's you do or you don't." Robin asked.

Glenn sighed; "Yes I do."

"Then if Maggie understands, she knows you love her too." Rick stated.

"But aren't girls suppose say it more than guys?"

"But girls like it if the guys say it first." Robin argued.

"I am staying out of this." Rick chuckled.


	12. Chapter 12

After a constant bicker about relationships, Rick finally rolled into the town and Glenn gave him directions to the pharmacy which led them to the bar right across the street from it. They looked around making sure no walkers were nearby before getting out of the car. They walked through the bushes and Rick peeked inside the dirty window, seeing an old man leaning over the bar with a bottle of alcohol next to him.

It was Herhsel.

And a little girl with a baseball cap was sitting on a chair next to him with what seems like a worn out can of a soda.

It was Clementine.

Rick opened the door with Glenn and Robin following behind them. Robin's eyes immediately located Clementine and a wave of relief washed over her.

"Clementine!"

The little girl raised her head and saw her with a smile; "Robin!"

Robin ran in, dumping her bow on the table and grabbed Clementine in her arms in in return wrapped her arms around her neck. "Oh thank god, I was so worried! What were you thinking?! You had me upset I didn't think what would happen to you!"

"I was follo"-

"No you know what, I don't care. You are grounded!"

"Grounded?! But I was just following Hershe"-

"You should've atleast told me, I was worried sick. You are grounded when we get back to the farm…but I'm so glad you're ok!" Robin squeezed her in her arms with a smile, Clementine could barely breathe. Hershel looked from the corner of his eye the little love fest going on next to him and turned his attention back to the empty cup in his hands.

"Hershel." Rick called out to him.

Hershel didn't respond for a second but inside sighed and asked; "Who else is with you?"

"Not Shane. Glenn volunteered to come with us, Robin thought Clementine was with you so she came along." Glenn and Rick joined him by his side, Robin put Clementine back in her chair and kissed her forehead. They both turned to Rick who was by Hershel's side but Hershel refused to look at him.

"How much have you had?" Rick asked.

"Not enough." His eyes never left the glass.

"Why don't we grab a few bottles?" Rick suggested. "And lets go back to the farm. Beth needs you, she's in some sort of state of shock or something. You're in a state of shock too, it's not safe to be here."

"As long as Maggie is with her, she'll be fine. There's nothing I can do, they need their mother. She always knew what to do in these situations. I'm useless. They're just mourning right now…but I robbed them of that…and I ruined them. It's too late…that I'm seeing that now."

"No you didn't." Robin commented. "You raised two beautiful strong daughters but they need you right now. You are still their father."

"You thought there was a cure. You can't blame yourself for holding on to a single strand of hope, its what keeps us moving." Rick added, trying to lift Hershel's spirit up but it wasn't enough.

Hershel scoffed; "Hope. When you were running through my field with your boy bleeding in your arm…I thought he was going to die."

"But he didn't, did he? He's alive."

"In exchange for Otis's life..because of your man Shane. Miracles don't exist, its all a big scam. I was a fool to believe that…your people saw it…I'm a fool. My daughters deserve better than what I am." He was going to pour himself another glass but instead he thought about it and drank directly from the bottle.

Rick stepped back for a second, this wasn't going to work. They needed a new approach.

"So you're just going to drink yourself to death? Leaving your family behind? That's the plan right now?" Robin argued.

"Robin"-

Glenn tried to get her to stop but Hershel slammed his glass on the table, startling Clementine for a second. "Don't tell me how to live my life."

"Your daughters need you and you're here drinking like a beat down dad!"

"I do the Christian thing and give this group shelter, food and water. I didn't even want any more people on this farm but Rick changed my mind." Hershel pointed at Robin then at Rick. "And you were suppose to be their leader and you let them down!"

"I'm here now aren't I?!" Rick stepped up, Hershel glared into his eyes and nodded. "I am here because I am trying to bring us back together! It's us against them! We broke down and I am trying to bring us together. I promised your daughter to bring you home and that's what I'm trying to do here!"

"Yes you are…you are. But there's no point anymore. There's no more hope Rick…I was feeding a rotten corpse, someone who I loved…and cherish for years. I thought there was a cure…I just needed to believe and wait…but it's all over now." Hershel rested his forehead on his hand, the alcohol was close to consuming him, he felt actually a little dizzy. "You know it too, all of you do. There is no hope."

"When…everything started." Clementine started. "I was with a man…this man was a stranger but he protected me and told me he would help me find my parents. I thought there was little hope that they would still be alive…even though he told me there was no chance. Then…he…died…hope died at that moment. I just wanted to die...I wanted everything to be over. But Robin found me at that moment, she showed me there wasn't much to live for but…there is hope. There is always hope because hope is never dead. Besides, the way I see it, death has always been around us. Cancer, gunshot, broken neck or walker…it's all the same, nothing has changed. And there was always hope wasn't there?"

"Clementine is right." Rick commented. "There is no difference. My group…Our group needs us. Even if it's just to push them a little further on, they need us."

The words echoed through Hershel's ears, no one knew what he was thinking. Their hearts almost stopped, hoping to have said enough to persuade the old man. Hershel looked at the half empty bottle of alcohol, he was about to take another swing but instead he put it back on the counter and pushed it away from him. They all grinned happily; they got him back. Rick patted him on the back when he stepped off the chair but immediately they heard the bell of the front door open when the door swung open. They all turned their heads towards the open door, thinking about walkers. But instead they saw two men standing at the entrance, a little surprised to what they saw.

"Holy shit…they're alive."

* * *

Rick grabbed a bottle of bourbon from one of the dusty shelves and a few shot glasses and put them on the table in front of one of the strange men that came in. He was a sweaty scrawny fellow wearing normal jeans, torn-sleeved t-shirt and had short black hair. His partner sat nearby him, he was a fat man with a worn out dirty white t-shirt and dirty jeans, he wore a black cap that was similar to Clementine's.

Robin was sitting on the counter with her feet dangling over the edge as Clementine sat next to her with her can of coke in her hand. Glenn settled himself behind the counter on a stool that was there with his rifle gun in front of him. Hershel sat across from him but just a seat down from Clementine.

"I'm Dave by the way, that scrawny looking douche bag over there is Tony." The skinny man said.

"Eat me Dave." The large man chuckled.

"Be careful what you wish for cause one day that might happen." He took a shot glass Rick poured for him and Rick past out the remaining shot glasses.

"I'm Glenn, it's nice to finally meet some new people." He smiled.

"Rick Grimes." He announced as he gave a shot glass to Glenn and Robin.

"I'm Robin."

"I'm Clementine." She introduced herself, she didn't like the strangers that were just a few feet from her. "I'm her daughter."

"Daughter? You're a mom?" Dave pointed to Robin then started to laugh. "Nah you're shitting me, you're too young to be a mom."

"Lotion really does work wonders." Robin smiled as she stroked Clementine's hair behind her ear that was poking out from under her cap.

Dave noticed that Hershel wasn't having one. "You aren't having one?"

"I just quit." Hershel stated, making Clementine giggle.

"You have a unique sense of timing, never seen that before." He smirked.

"This is Hershel." Rick introduced him. "He lost people today, we all did."

"I'm sorry." Dave apologized. "To new friends and to our dead, may they rest in peace and be somewhere better than this hell hole." They all raised their glasses and took sips from the alcohol while Clementine drank her coke. There was a moment of silence in the group but not in prayer, they were all watching each other carefully.

"So you guys from around here? Where are you guys from?"

"Originally we're all scattered around Georgia, we all met up in a camp just outside of a city." Robin tried to make up a story.

"Atlanta." Rick pulled in his side of the story.

"Atlanta? I heard that place went to shit!" Tony exclaimed.

"It did, we… had to pull out and we ended up here. We were thinking of Fort Benning eventually." Glenn added.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we had this guy who was stationed there, it's overruned by those lamebrains."

"Seriously?" Glenn asked.

"Yep. There's no way out of this hell, you're either dead or alive. Go from one town to the next." Said Dave as he picked his nails, Tony chuckled at his comment. "By the way, those are your cars outfront right? You guys are set up near here?"

"Why do you ask?" Robin asked.

"Well we live in our car, but yours…seem a little clean and empty. No gear?"

"We were scouting." Hershel covered. "We are with a larger group, we wanted to stop and get a drink."

"I thought you quit old man." Tony joked.

"Well, is it safe around here?"

"We had to shoot a few walkers here and there." Clementine stated.

"That's what you call them sweetie?" Dave asked. "Walkers? Hell I like that better than lamebrains. Walkers it is. So where are you guys camped out? Some store or some farm probably?"

The group didn't say anything, Dave's lips tugged on the corner, he hit a sweet spot. "A farm then?"

"Heh, old McDonald had a farm." Tony sang as he got up to traveled across the room and into a corner. They heard the sound of liquid being spilled on the wooden floor, Rick shot him a look. Robin didn't dare turn her head, it was disgusting. Clementine was about to but Robin covered her eyes quickly and turned her head back forward.

Dave rubbed his forehead. "Please forgive my friend, he's from the city he has NO MANNERS!" He exclaimed for his friend to hear but in return he heard a laugh.

"When you gotta go, you gotta go. That's my motto. E-I-E-I-O."

"So you got food? Water and shelter?" Dave tried to press on onto the issue of the farm.

"Got anymore cooze?" Tony asked, he zipped up his pants and turned back around, he was positioned more closely to Robin and Clementine. Robin knew what he meant and her hand rested on Clementine's shoulder just in case. "Haven't had a piece of ass in weeks." He licked his lips towards Robin who shot him a glare.

"What? You're a woman, I'm a man. We're just meant to be."

"I have a boyfriend." Robin lied.

"That word doesn't exist anymore sweetheart."

"Enough." Rick stated, making Tony take a step back to save him from Robin who was about to shoot him.

"Tony, behave!" Dave yelled at his friend then groaned. "Please forgive him, he's an idiot like that. So about this farm."

"We can't take in anymore." Rick commanded.

Dave sighed; "Look I know you have your group, and I have mine. But we're not doing so hot; we're having a real hard time out there. I'm sure it's been the same in your group. But I think we have more manpower than you do, I mean, we can pool up our resources, we have guns, we have"-

"It's not an option." Rick commanded again.

"We already have too many people as it is." Robin added.

"Ever heard of Southern Hospitality?" Tony shot back.

"Ever heard of personal space?" Robin asked.

"Look, we're sorry but we can't." Hershel added. "Plus we don't know one thing about you. We have to think about our group first."

"Well that's the point of having this conversation right? We're getting to know each other. We're friends aren't we?" Dave stood up to stretch his arms towards the roof. "Just friends having a nice time and getting a drink, how about we get another round and we all take a trip to this little farm eh?" Dave jumped on one of the chair to jump over the counter. Rick got up and Robin jumped off the counter, jumping into action if necessary.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy. Friends remember? I'm just looking for the good stuff."Dave put his gun on the counter to show he was a friendly and looked below, swiftly his hand dove under the counter. Rick placed his hand on his gun and Dave saw that, Tony was about to grab his pistol from behind his pants.

Suddenly Dave pulled out a bottle of an orange liquid; "Ah, this will do just fine." He grabbed another glass and poured alittle for himself. "So tell me Rick, if you won't allow us in your group and we don't know if we can set up here. "Where can we go? Where's safe for my group?"

"Nebraska is nice this time of year, went there a few years back with my wife."

Dave chuckled; "Nebraska? Can you believe this guy?"

The laughter stopped. Everything was quiet for a second. Dave threw the bottle of alcohol at Rick which caused Rick to pull out his gun and fire, Dave ducked on time and the bullet broke the glass. Clementine pulled out her gun and pointed it at Tony and fired twice. He jumped to the side and pulled out his rifle on her, Robin grabbed her bow and an arrow on time and shot the arrow which pierced his shoulder. Tony yelled in pain as he dropped his rifle to grab his shoulder. Robin grabbed another arrow from the counter and turned around to shoot Dave.

Dave already had a surprise; he held Glenn by the neck with his gun already against Glenn's head. Glenn still had his rifle in hand but didn't get a chance to use it, he tried to stay absolutely still.

Dave was grinning; "Now, now. Let's not get hasty shall we friends?"


	13. Chapter 13

Dave had everyone's attention; he ripped the rifle from Glenn hands as he raised his hands in defense.

"All of you, weapons on the table, now." He commanded. Rick hesitated for a moment, Glenn's life was on the line. In his mind he was exploring every option he had for them so escape alive. Every exit would have them dead. The best thing now is to do what he said.

Rick lifted up his hands and put the gun down on the table as slow as he possibly could. Dave waved his gun to the side so Rick can follow his direction. Then he pointed it at the two girls and gestured them to do the same. Clementine's hand was shaking as she carefully put the gun down and placed it on the table. Robin did the same thing with her bow and dumped her quiver down. Tony manage to get up and force the arrow from his shoulder. It wasn't so deep sadly but still a little blood came out. Robin pulled Clementine behind her for protection.

"You don't need to do this." Hershel tried to talk to him.

"Hey we tried to settle this like good people." Dave spat at him. "It's time to step it up a notch."

* * *

Daryl laid on his sleeping bag, twirling his arrow in his hand. The crickets were chirping away their nightly melody and the fire crackled and danced around the dark scenery. The memory of Sophia stained his mind, the little girl..he desperately tried to save. It was all in vain. Just what was he doing? Wasting time now? He wasted every single day looking for her, tracking her footsteps and hearing for her cries. Why was he alive? He should be dead not her, she was just a child.

"Daryl?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Clementine's voice. He immediately sat up and came out of his tent. There was nothing out there, he moved away from the rest of the group to be alone but it would've been easy to spot her. No one near his bike, his clothes, the firepit…he was alone…

He sighed and retreated back into the tent, laying his back on the ground with his eyes closed. Calm down, calm down he thought to himself. With a deep breath he opened his eyes, only to see Sophia hovering over him. He jumped at the sight and sat up immediately to back away. The rotten walker bite on her neck was peeling its dead skin and fresh blood drooled on her shoulder. Her dirty blonde hair was covered in dirt and in knots contrasting against her grey dead skin. The only thing alive were her eyes, shining her sorrow on Daryl's soul. Daryl felt like throwing up whatever he had a few hours ago.

"So- Sophia?"

"Why did you let me die?"

"I-I didn't. I-"

"Why did you do this to me?!" She shrieked as she pulled her shirt down her shoulder to reveal the walker bite more. "Why did you let me die?! You took me from my mommy!"

Daryl covered his eyes and closed his eyes. It couldn't be his fault, he tried! He really tried to look for him! He forced himself to look at Sophia but her dead face appeared before him as she cried fresh blood down her cheeks.

"Why did you let the walkers do this to me!?"

Daryl pushed her away and retreated out of the tent, only to push himself against something and brought it down with him. Carol shrieked when she fell to the ground and Daryl backed away from her. He realized who it was and tried to calm his racing heart.

"Daryl?" Carol asked before getting up and went to help him up, grabbed his arm. Daryl got up and looked around trying to make sense of the situation. Carol looked inside the tent and saw nothing there, what would've freak him out. "Daryl are you ok?" Carol asked him.

He nodded and wiped his face quickly. "Ye-Yeah I'm-I'm fine. Just…n-nothing…" He straightened himself up. "What are you doing here? I thought I said to leave me alone."

"We're going on a drive." She told him.

"I said I'm not anyone's errand boy anymore."

"It's not an errand. It's just a drive, it's not going to kill you." She smirked. "Come on." She started walking back to the house, Daryl looked after her and sighed. He didn't want to go…but at the same time he didn't want to be alone. He groaned and collected his crossbow before chasing after her. They went behind the house where all the cars were parked. Carol got into the truck on the driver's side and Daryl climbed into the passenger's seat, Carol started up the car and drove off into the main street, luckily no one noticed. The fresh air blew on their hot skin and the fresh scent of pine tickled their noses.

Daryl leaned on the car door, letting the air hit his face forcing him to close his eyes and to think.

"You know…I know how much you cared for Sophia." Carol started, not knowing if he was listening. "You did…more than what her own father did for her. If she was here, she would be so grateful. Just like how I am. I know you are trying to force yourself away from the group…you earned it. Everyone is starting to love you."

Carol's words were penetrating his ears and inside him, a tear rolled down his cheek. She was wrong. He tried everything and failed, he deserved to die. She shouldn't be grateful. He failed. Carol reached over and grabbed his shaking hand, giving it a squeeze. Daryl force back a choke and gave Carol's hand a squeeze, letting her know he was listening before she let go.

They drove into town before Carol was going to make a U-turn. They saw a few walkers near the bar but they also saw Hershel's and Rick's car parked outside. The bar doors were wide open, Daryl told her to park right up front so she crash into two walkers and they jumped out of the car. Daryl pulled up his crossbow to aim at the soon to be danger and they entered the bar. He dropped his crossbow and Carol whimpered to cover her mouth.

There was a blood bath, the place was destroyed. They saw Clementines's body on the counter being feasted by a walker, her legs were missing and her gut was being emptied. The walker looked up at the recent guests, it was Robin. Her mouth was full of fresh flesh of the little girls and her eyes were bloodshot. She had a fresh bite on her upper arm.

Carol cried out, watching at the horrible scene infront of her. Daryl kneeled on the ground when his legs gave out. She was dead…Robin and Clementine.

He should've been there.

He should've been here. Helping them!

But he wasn't.

They were gone.


End file.
